The Traveling Lights
by KESwriter
Summary: Spencer Reid has a terrible nightmare while on the plane ride home. He needs help from the person who "revealed the light" to him nearly a year ago. Fluff. One-shot. Takes place before the epilogue in "The Journey Home" fan story.


I do not own Criminal Minds.

I thought this would be fun and cute to write up really quickly. Though this won't be the 20,000th Criminal Mind fan story, I still wanted to have something posted on the day it does reach that awesome number!

I got the idea from wanting to capture the essence of the "The Journey Home" in a single one-shot. There are some major spoilers but I think some readers will want to dig deeper into my original story as a result. It takes place before the Epilogue of the "The Journey Home." It is fairly new-reader friendly. All reviews are welcome.

"The Traveling Lights"

"Please stop! Stop hurting me! Stop!" Dr. Spencer Reid screamed.

The rest of the team woke up. They were on the plane ride home from Houston after a gruesome case involving the abduction of high school athletes. It resulted in the deaths of two of the three UnSubs. Even Hotch, didn't feel up to doing paper work.

Reid was thrashing around on the couch screaming: "Stop! I'll be a good! I promise!"

Morgan was the first to reach Reid's side. "Reid. It's okay buddy. You're safe!"

Reid opened his eyes. A look of wild-eyed terror appeared. "No I'm not. GET AWAY FROM ME!" He slapped Morgan across the chest. Morgan took a step back.

The whole team surrounded Reid. They all inched away from him a little after seeing his reaction; afraid they might upset him even more. This was the fourth field assignment he had completed and seemed to be handling everything extremely well. Beyond well actually, he was the one who negotiated with the UnSub when Hotch and Rossi were being held hostage during his second assignment.

Reid was pulling at the collar of his green dress shirt. "I'll do whatever you want! Just stop!" Tears began to roll down his cheeks.

Morgan looked to Hotch. "What do we do Hotch? Should we land somewhere and get him-"

Hotch was firm and authoritative as always. "No. J.J, open Reid's bag and dig out his cell phone. Look through his phone book to see if he has a doctor listed."

Careful not to get near to close to Reid, J.J. grabbed his bag.

"Isn't that a little invasive?" Prentiss commented.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Hotch snapped. He couldn't have people questioning him right now.

J.J opened the phone and scrolled through the options with a little confusion. "He has a therapist in D.C. right?"

"Yes," Morgan said. Not taking his eyes off an increasingly agitated Reid.

"Does anyone know his name?" Everyone shook their heads. Reid didn't talk about how he was still seeing a therapist once month. Hotch was having a hard time remembering a name as this had not been a major concern in a long time. But one name would always stick with him.

"Is Dr. Maya Selzer listed?" Hotch asked quietly. No one on the team knew what happened between him and Reid's therapist at the institute in California. He almost winced whenever her name was brought up.

J.J. nodded just as Reid stood up and lunged at them. Rossi and Morgan caught his arms. "I don't want to be here! Let me out! Let me out!"

"Call her J.J!" Hotch ordered.

Prentiss tried to speak with Reid in soothing tones as J.J. walked to the other end of the plane. Dr. Selzer picked up on the third ring.

"Spencer! What's going on? Are you okay?" she shouted above what sounded like a Lady Antebellum song playing in the background.

"Dr. Selzer it's Jennifer Jareau from the BAU-"

"I remember. What's wrong?"

"Reid is having a nightmare. He thinks he's trapped again in that horrible-"

"Okay where are you guys now?" her shouted as the music faded. It sounded like she was running.

"We are on the plane heading back to D.C-" Reid let out another horrible scream and J.J. cringed. "Can you help us?" she said as her voice cracked.

Dr. Selzer sounded calm and in control. She spoke at a normal volume. "Go over and walk to where Dr. Reid is and put me on speaker phone. Stay about ten inches away from him at all times."

The team separated as J.J. nervously approached where Rossi and Morgan were holding him. She held the phone up to him.

"There is nothing to be afraid of. You are safe," Dr. Selzer said gently.

For a moment Reid stopped struggling. "No I'm not! Please I don't want to be here!" he cried.

"Look out the window and tell me what you see."

Reid managed to look over his shoulder. "Darkness. Nothing but darkness!"

The team tensed. They didn't know how this line of conversation was helping.

"But there is light where you are. Correct?"

Reid nodded his head. Dr. Selzer seemed to take the silence as an affirmative.

"So when people look up into the sky they see a light traveling above them."

Reid seemed to be listening intently now. He had stopped struggling against Morgan and Rossi, but continued to shake.

"People will be reminded by the sight of your light that they are safe. People will remember that you are a conqueror of the darkness. They know that you are out there battling the demons that torment their lives. When people see the light, they see hope."

Reid's reaction stunned the team. He had never told them about how Dr. Selzer helped him during his darkest hours.

"Am I really safe?" Reid asked weakly.

"Look around you. You are standing among the strongest lights in the world. They will protect you as much as you protect them from the darkness."

Reid's head slumped down. Morgan and Rossi gently placed him on the couch.

"The darkness will always fear you. Close your eyes and let the memories of peace and joy fill your mind as you dream. You are truly safe in the presence of the light."

Reid stretched out onto the couch and his breathing slowed. He fell asleep within a minute.

"Is he asleep?" Dr. Selzer whispered.

Morgan kept watch over Reid as J.J. walked with the rest of the team to the other end of the plane. "Yes. He's sound asleep," she said.

"That's great." She let out an audible sigh of relief. "I haven't been in contact with Dr. Reid as frequently since Dr. Sharon Watts became his primary. I'll call her office and leave a message."

Prentiss stared at the phone with amazement. "That was incredible work Dr. Selzer. "

"I'll always be here for Dr. Reid."

"It sounded like you were in the middle of something. I hope-"J.J. started to say.

"It's not a big deal." She laughed. "When he wakes up and remembers what happened, tell him not to feel bad. He was an essential part of the sequence of events that led to this day. It is only fitting that he be part of it."

"What does that-" Rossi started to say.

"I know this probably looks awful to you right now, but I need you to not let it cloud your perception of Reid's general mental state. This is his first major memory lapse in more than six months. Which is an incredible feat given what he has experienced."

"So what are you suggesting Dr. Selzer? You can't expect us trust him in the field after-" Hotch started to say.

"Let Dr. Watts make an assessment and take her recommendations seriously. I think you'll find that ten minutes of terror does not erase seven months of intense treatment."

"Is he going to be okay?" J.J. asked as she glanced over at Reid.

"Without a doubt. It must be late where you are right now. I know you guys don't want to sleep right now, but at least try to get comfortable. I need to get going before people get the wrong idea about why I left. Goodbye," she said and hung up before anyone could respond.

Everyone walked over to where Reid and Morgan were. Reid murmured inaudibly as he turned every once and a while. He looked at peace.

Morgan turned to them. His eyes were moist. "He is just-"

"We know Morgan. We know," Hotch said. "I second Dr. Selzer's suggestion that everyone try to get comfortable as we still have a couple more hours of flight left ahead of us."

Everyone agreed. Rossi and Hotch took the near-by chairs. Morgan, Prentiss and J.J. leaned against surfaces closest to Reid.

…

"Was Dr. Maya Selzer on the phone when I lost it?" Reid said.

Everyone looked up. They were ten minutes away from arriving at Quantico. It seemed that everyone had drifted into some level of slumber.

J.J. leaped up. "How are you feeling Spence?"

Reid slowly sat up and laughed. "I've had better days. So she really picked up?"

"Yes and she said not to worry about bothering her. She would always-"

"What song did you hear in the background?"

J.J. was confused. "What? How could you-"

"Did it sound like Etta James or Lady Antebellum?"

The rest of the team was completely alert now.

J.J. looked a little frustrated. "Lady Antebellum. What are you talking about?"

Reid shifted so that he was sitting against the couch with his feet on the carpet. "His parents must have been annoyed. At Last as the first song is a family tradition."

Prentiss was the first to figure it out. "Reid, are you saying that when we called Dr. Selzer we were interrupting her wedding?"

"It's my fault. I should have told you to call Dr. Watts in case something like this happened. I really hope this doesn't happen again though." He sounded like he was about to drowse off again.

A strange look came across Hotch's face. The team stared at him and he refused to make eye contact with any of them.

"Well it could have been worse," Reid with a yawn. "You could have called during her honeymoon."

...

Author's Note: How is a version the name Sharon Watts connected to Criminal Minds?


End file.
